Net Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Pakistan grew 32.3% during the first four months of the ongoing fiscal year (FY25), clocking in at $904.3 million, revealed State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday.
During July-October FY25, FDI inflows were $1,242.5 million against an outflow of $338.2 million.
Net FDI during the same period (July-October) of the previous year amounted to $683.5 million.
During October alone, net FDI amounted to $133.2 million, an 18% decrease when compared with the same month of the previous year when it stood at $163.3 million.
Jul-Aug FDI up 55.5pc to $350.3m YoY
On a month-on-month basis, FDI was down over 65%, in comparison to $385 million clocked in during September.
Country-wise FDI
Meanwhile, during the first four months of FY25, overall Chinese investment in the country increased by over 100%. China remained the largest investing country, accounting for 46% of the total share with a net FDI of $414.5 million compared with $207.1 million during the same period last year.
Hong Kong emerged as the second-largest investor with a net FDI of $99.7 million, compared with $69.9 million during the same period last year, an increase of 43% and accounting for 11% of the total share.
During 4MFY25, the power sector attracted the major share of investment i.e. 46% ($414.5 million) followed by the financial business sector ($189.6 million) and the oil & gas exploration ($103.8 million).
The development comes at a time when the country faces a shortage of dollars as it makes efforts to increase foreign exchange reserves through non-debt-creating inflow.
Pakistan’s current account posted a surplus of $349 million in October 2024 compared to a deficit of $287 million in the same month of the previous fiscal year, data released on Monday showed.
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